Researchers in Law
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Item The limits imposed upon freedom of testation by the boni mores: Lessons from common law and civil law (continental) legal systems(Juta, 2000) du Toit, FrancoisThis article investigates the limitation of freedom of testation in terms of the boni mores or public policy from a legal-comparative perspective. The limits imposed by public policy on freedom of testamentary disposition in English and Australian law are analysed, and the limitation of freedom of testation in terms of the good morals in Dutch and German law is investigated. It is proposed that the operation of the boni mores or public policy in these jurisdictions holds valuable lessons for future development in South African law.Item The constitutionally bound dead hand? The impact of constitutional rights and principles on freedom of testation in South African law(Juta, 2001) du Toit, FrancoisThis article analyses critically the impact of constitutionalism on freedom of testation and its limitation in South African law. It proposes the judicial utilisation of a 'constitutionally-founded boni mores criterion' in addressing particularly testamentary forfeiture clauses and charitable testamentary bequests.Item The fiduciary office of trustee and the protection of contingent trust beneficiaries(Juta Law, 2007) du Toit, FrancoisThis contribution focuses on two matters pertinent to the office of trustee. First, the fiduciary nature of the office of trustee is investigated, with particular reference to the essence of a trustee’s fiduciary duty. Secondly, the protection afforded by a trustee’s fiduciary office to trust beneficiaries, particularly contingent beneficiaries, is examined. It is shown that the protection enjoyed by contingent trust beneficiaries is frequently ascribed to their “vested interests in the proper administration of a trust” (which, it is submitted, means that each contingent trust beneficiary enjoys a personal right against the trust’s trustee for proper trust administration as counterpart to such trustee’s fiduciary duty). The question is then posed whether, as some commentators contend, such an interest in or right to proper trust administration allows extending a direct action, through the actio legis Aquiliae, to contingent trust beneficiaries for claiming delictual damages from an errant trustee in breach of trust.Item From archaic to modern law: Uganda's Refugees Act 2006 and her international obligations(The Human Rights and Peace Center (HURIPEC), 2008) Mujuzi, Jamil DdamuliraUganda enacted its first law to deal with refugees in 1955, which was repealed in 1960 by the Control of Alien Refugees Act. While the 1960 law was still in force, Uganda ratified international and regional human rights instruments. In 1995 a new Constitution with a comprehensive Bill of Rights was promulgated. These developments made the 1960 Act incompatible with Uganda’s international, regional and national human rights obligations. As a result, in May 2006 Uganda passed the Refugees Act which integrates its international and regional obligations into the refugee legal regime. This article critically reviews the 2006 Refugees Act and Uganda’s refugee obligations in light of its international human rights obligations. The article argues that the 2006 Refugees Act substantially reflects Uganda’s international and regional obligations under the relevant refugee and human rights instruments, but finds that some questions, such as the definitions of ‘spouse’ and ‘public order’ remain unanswered.Item Why the Supreme Court of Uganda should reject the Constitutional Court's understanding of imprisonment for life(Pretoria University Law Press (PULP), 2008) Mujuzi, Jamil DdamuliraThe issue of life imprisonment is always a contentious one. Some people argue that life imprisonment should mean what it means, namely 'wholelife'. In Uganda, life imprisonment continues to mean imprisonment of 20 years. However, in 2005 the Constitutional Court ruled that life imprisonment should mean'the whole of a person's life'. This decision is not yet law, because the particular case is on appeal before the Supreme Court, which will either uphold the Constitutional Court's ruling or not. This article deals with the constitutionality of long prison sentences that the Constitutional Court suggested could be imposed to avoid prisoners being released after 20 years. It also argues that the Supreme Court should reject the Constitutional Court's ruling that life imprisonment should mean the whole of the prisoner's life. The human rights and administrative implications of 'whole-life' imprisonment are discussed in detail to support the view that life imprisonment should remain as is, that is, 20 years in prison. The author draws inspiration from other domestic jurisdictions and international law to support his argument. In particular, the author looks at jurisprudence from Germany, South Africa, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, the Special Court for Sierra Leone, the International Criminal Court and the European Court of Human Rights. Where applicable, the views of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights are highlighted.Item The prospect of rehabilitation as a ‘substantial and compelling’ circumstance to avoid imposing life imprisonment in South Africa: A comment on S v Nkomo(Juta Law, 2008) Mujuzi, Jamil DdamuliraWhen the death penalty was declared unconstitutional in South Africa, the government enacted the Criminal Law Amendment Act in 1997 which, amongst other things, stipulated that a person convicted of some of the scheduled offences was to be sentenced to life imprisonment unless there were substantial and compelling circumstances. Many courts interpreted substantial and compelling circumstances in many different, and at times confusing, ways. The Supreme Court of Appeal clarified the meaning of substantial and compelling circumstance in the well-known Malgas case in which it held, inter alia, that courts should not lightly depart from imposing severe sentences, since the legislature had singled out the scheduled offences to be punished severely because they are serious offences. One of the criteria the Court set was that courts should not rely on ‘speculative hypotheses favourable to the offender’ to avoid imposing life sentences. However, recently, in the Nkomo case, the Court held that the prospect of rehabilitation of the offender is a substantial and compelling circumstance to justify the imposition of a lesser sentence. This article analyses rehabilitation as an objective of punishment and highlights the likely challenges associated with the approach the Court seems to be adopting.Item The constitutional family in the Law of Succession(Juta Law, 2009) du Toit, FrancoisThis article traces the development of the constitutional family in the South African law of succession through a synopsis of Constitutional Court and High Court judgments on the application of the Intestate Succession Act and the Maintenance of Surviving Spouses Act beyond the confines of the traditional conception of 'family'. It also investigates significant legislative developments that impacted on the establishment of the constitutional family in the South African law of succession.Item Life imprisonment in South Africa: yesterday, today, and tomorrow(Juta Law, 2009) Mujuzi, Jamil DdamuliraLife imprisonment has been part of South Africa's penal regime for decades. This article analyses how this form of punishment has changed in meaning in since 1906. The author looks at life imprisonment during the death penalty period ; life imprisonment in the aftermath of the abolition of the death penalty ; life imprisonment under the Criminal Law Amendment Act, when it could only be imposed by the High Courts ; and life imprisonment during the Criminal Law Amendment Act, when the regional courts were also empowered to impose this sentence. The author discusses the laws and circumstances which prevailed in the above four periods. With life imprisonment now being the severest sentence that can be imposed in South Africa, the author highlights the challenges associated with it and calls upon the government, courts and civil society to think seriously about how this form of punishment should be administered so as to avoid confusing inmates and exposing the government to litigation.Item The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights and the promotion and protection of refugees' rights(Pretoria University Law Press (PULP), 2009) Mujuzi, Jamil DdamuliraAfrican countries have been host to and have produced refugees for decades. These refugees have fled their countries for various reasons, including political and religious reasons. Many African countries are party to the 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its additional Protocol of 1967. In 1969, the Organisation of African Unity Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa, the major instrument that deals with the rights and duties of refugees in Africa, was adopted to address, as the name suggests, the specific aspects of refugee problems in Africa which were not addressed by the 1951 UN Refugee Convention. The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights has put in place various measures to promote and protect the rights of refugees in Africa. These measures include the organisation of seminars, seminar paper presentations by commissioners, the appointment of a Special Rapporteur on Refugees, Asylum Seekers, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons in Africa, and adopting resolutions on the rights of refugees. The African Commission has also allied itself with various international human rights and humanitarian law organisations to protect the rights of refugees in Africa. It has protected the rights of refugees through its visits to different countries and through its decisions on individual communications. This article observes, inter alia, that, although the African Commission has entertained various communications dealing with the rights of refugees in Africa, the arguments of the parties to those communications as well as the decisions of the Commission have largely focused on the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and not on the 1969 OAU Convention on Refugees. The author recommends that, in matters relating to refugee' rights, the African Commission should always invoke the provisions of the 1969 OAU Refugee Convention in addition to the African Charter and, where need be, reference should be made to other refugee-related instruments.Item International human rights law and foreign case law in interpreting constitutional rights: The Supreme Court of Uganda and the death penalty question.(Pretoria University Law Press (PULP), 2009) Mujuzi, Jamil DdamuliraOn 21 January 2009, the Supreme Court of Uganda handed down a judgment in which it held that the death penalty was constitutional, that a mandatory death sentence was unconstitutional, that hanging as a mode of execution was not cruel and inhuman, and that the death row phenomenon is cruel and inhuman and therefore unconstitutional. Although the Constitution of Uganda does not empower or require the Court to refer to international law or foreign case law in interpreting the Constitution, the Court relied heavily on international human rights treaties and jurisprudence in arriving at its decision. This article has three purposes: one, to show how the Ugandan Court used international law and foreign case law in its judgment; two, to analyse the Court's orders; and third to recommend that the Constitution of Uganda be amended to empower or require courts to refer to international law and foreign case law in interpreting the country's Constitution.Item Sentencing primary caregivers of young children(Juta Law, 2011) Mujuzi, Jamil DdamuliraTraditionally a judicial officer was not required to consider the effects of the imposed sentence on the children of the offender, even if the offender was a primary caregiver of young children. The Court in S v M (Centre for Child Law as Amicus Curiae) 2007 (2) SACR 539 (CC) [2007 (12) BCLR 1312] (discussed in detail in Mujuzi (2011) 2 SACJ 164-177) held that, in sentencing primary caregivers of young children, courts should inquire into the effects the sentence will have on such children and, where possible, impose a non-custodial sentence to ensure that the children are not deprived of the care and support of the primary caregiver.Item Punishment in the eyes of the Constitutional Court of South Africa: the relationship between punishment and the rights of an offender in the sentencing of primary caregivers of children(Juta Law, 2011) Mujuzi, Jamil DdamuliraPunishment has mostly focused on achieving its objectives without considering the impact a sentence will have on the rights of the offender and those under the offender's care. Drawing on the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court, the author illustrates how the Court, relying on the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, has shifted the punishment discourse from one that emphasises the objectives of punishment to one that calls upon sentencing officers to not only emphasise the objectives of punishment, but also to consider the effect the punishment will have on the children if their primary caregiver was sentenced to imprisonment.Item How should the most evil of law breakers be punished: The death penalty vs life imprisonment in Uganda, 1993 – 2009(The Human Rights and Peace Center (HURIPEC), 2011) Mujuzi, Jamil DdamuliraArticle 22(1) of 1995 Constitution of Uganda protects the right to life and provides that it can only be taken away in the ‘execution of a sentence passed in a fair trial by a court of competent jurisdiction in respect of a criminal offence under the laws of Uganda and the conviction and sentence have been confirmed by the highest appellate court.’ The death penalty is imposed for some crimes such as murder, treason and terrorism. During the constitution making process between 1989 and 1994 and when the constitution was being amended in 2005, there were arguments that the death penalty should be abolished and replaced with life imprisonment which means imprisonment until death. These attempts were unsuccessful. The constitutionality of the death penalty was unsuccessfully challenged in both the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court. However, both courts appear to hold the view that if the death penalty is to be abolished, it should be substituted with life imprisonment. This article highlights the attempts and the arguments that have been made to abolish the death penalty in Uganda. The author argues, inter alia, that should the death penalty be abolished and substituted with life imprisonment, offenders sentenced to life imprisonment should not be detained until death as life imprisonment without the possibility of release has been found to be cruel and inhuman in some African countries such as South Africa and Namibia. Because the death penalty is no longer mandatory in Uganda and it is likely to be replaced by life imprisonment, the author discusses the objectives of punishment that courts in Uganda have always emphasized in sentencing offenders to life imprisonment.Item Making sense of the Rwandan Law Relating to Serving Life Imprisonment with Special Provisions(Pretoria University Law Press (PULP), 2011) Mujuzi, Jamil DdamuliraIn October 2010, the Rwandan Law Relating to Serving Life Imprisonment with Special Provisions came into force. As the name suggests, the law is applicable to offenders sentenced to life imprisonment with special provisions. This article highlights the gaps in that law and suggests ways through which those gaps could be eliminated.Item Erfregtelike onwaardigheid: Enige lesse te leer vir die Suid-Afrikaanse reg uit die Nederlandse reg?(Juta, 2012) du Toit, FrancoisThe regulation of unworthiness to inherit in Book 4 of the (new) Dutch Civil Code (2003) occasioned numerous interpretation and application challenges to Dutch courts, notaries and inheritance scholars. These challenges correspond greatly with many of the contentious issues regarding unworthiness to inherit in modern South African law. This article investigates certain aspects of the Dutch legal position with a view to commenting on, and suggesting solutions to, corresponding challenges in the South African context. Issues such as the effect of unworthiness to inherit on matrimonial property claims as well as maintenance claims against a deceased estate, the suitability and appropriateness for South African law of a “forgiveness provision” that eliminates unworthiness similar to the one included in the Book 4 of the Dutch Civil Code and the regulation of unworthiness to inherit in the context of euthanasia are analysed from a legal-comparative standpoint.Item Constitutionalism, public policy and discriminatory testamentary bequests - a good fit between common law and civil law in South Africa's mixed jurisdiction(Tulane European & Civil Law Forum, 2012) du Toit, FrancoisThis article investigates South African courts' treatment of discriminatory testamentary bequests in the pre- and post-constitutional eras. It shows a change in judicial attitude towards such bequests from an accommodating, tolerant stance, purportedly founded on South Africa's Roman-Dutch common law, during the pre-constitutional era to a firm normative approach with a focus on equality and non-discrimination during the post-constitutional years. The Article assesses critically this post-constitutional approach against precedent and scholarship from Common Law and Civil Law jurisdictions and asks whether, given the mixed nature of its legal system, the current South African position in regard to such bequests achieves a good fit between the Common Law and Civil Law.Item The Ugandan Transfer of Convicted Offenders Act, 2012: A commentary(Pretoria University Law Press (PULP), 2012) Mujuzi, Jamil DdamuliraLike many countries, Uganda is home to foreign nationals. The presence of foreign nationals in the prison of a country raises questions regarding their treatment. Countries are increasingly enacting legislation, ratifying or acceding to treaties, or signing agreements governing the transfer of such offenders to serve the last part of their sentences in their countries of nationality, citizenship or domicile. On 17 May 2012, the Ugandan Parliament passed the Transfer of Convicted Offenders Bill, 2007 into law. The Transfer of Convicted Offenders Act was assented to by the President of Uganda on 27 July 2012 and, once it comes into force, will regulate the transfer of convicted offenders between Uganda and other countries. The purpose of the article is to highlight the debates surrounding some provisions of the Bill, including the purpose of the Act; human rights issues, consent of offenders to transfer; the costs of the transfer; and pardon and amnesty.Item The rule of law: Approaches of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights and selected African states(Pretoria University Law Press (PULP), 2012) Mujuzi, Jamil DdamuliraThe African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights is empowered to promote and protect human rights in Africa. Although the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights does not expressly use the phrase 'rule of law', the African Commission has interpreted its mandate under the African Charter as allowing it to promote and protect the rule of law in Africa. The article looks at four mechanisms through which the African Commission has attempted to promote the rule of law - in its resolutions, individual communications, promotional missions and through the periodic reports of state parties to the African Charter. The article shows that the African Commission has given different meanings to the concept of the rule of law. The article shows that, in their periodic reports to the African Commission, different African states have different understandings of the rule of law and have taken different measures to promote the rule of law in their jurisdictions. What is apparent is that the promotion and protection of human rights are crucial elements in rule of law discourse.Item Cave pecuniam: Lawyers as launderers(North-West University, 2012) Hamman, Abraham; Koen, RaymondIn South Africa there is something almost sacrosanct about an attorney's trust account. It is the prescribed destination of all funds paid in trust by a client to an attorney. Clients tend to have complete confidence in the fact that their money is entrusted thus. Its very designation as trust money encourages such confidence. The trust account is also the account in respect of which the Attorneys Fidelity Fund requires an annual audit to determine if an attorney is awarded the Fidelity Fund Certificate which he requires to practise. All in all, the trust account is the barometer of the good standing of a law practice, and the index of its trustworthiness. Hence the aura of venerability which surrounds it.Item Domestic courts and the promotion and protection of the right to freedom from torture in Southern African development community countries(University of Fort Hare, 2013) Mujuzi, Jamil DdamuliraThe right to freedom from torture is protected not only in the constitutions of all SADC countries but also in some of the regional and international human rights instruments that have been signed, ratified or acceded to by these countries. This article has discussed the measures taken by courts in different SADC countries to protect the right to freedom from torture. The author has focused on the following issues and made recommendations where appropriate: the definition of torture, the difference between torture on the one hand and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment on the other hand, the status of the right to freedom from torture in the eyes of the courts, the factors that courts consider as creating a conducive environment for torture, the issue of deporting or extraditing a person to a country where he or she could be subjected to torture, proving allegations of torture, some forms of punishment that have been declared as torture, and the admissibility of evidence obtained through torture.
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